That phrase is used more in professional sports each year than "I just want to thank God," "take it one game at a time," and "both teams played hard" all combined. It's like professional athletes, coaches, and management can never get tired of informing the world that they get paid to do this. And amazingly, that's supposed to explain away any and all decisions.

Odom was so hurt when it leaked that he had been traded to the New Orleans Hornets from the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal for Chris Paul that was blocked by the league, he met with general manager Mitch Kupchak last weekend and requested a trade. Kupchak obliged by trading him to the world champion Dallas Mavericks for a traded player exception in what is being described as a "cash dump." Few believe that's the end to the Lakers' angle considering their remarkable ability to make moves to reload at a moment's notice. But the result is the same. Odom is no longer a Laker after six years, and he's not feeling good about it. On Tuesday he revealed exactly how he feels about it.

"This is the place I wanted to be,'' he said. "After I realized that I most likely wasn't going to be there, dallas was the one place where I thought I would be a great fit.''

Was he surprised the Lakers accommodated him?

"I think when you think about it, that kind of says it all,'' he said. "I guess it was just time from their standpoint I guess they just felt like to hell with it.''

"I told (Lakers management) that I'd be thankful if he could work with my agent, my representation so I could play for a team like the Mavs.

"It was just like overnight he told me they wanted to move me to New Orleans and we didn't feel like that was in our best interest.

"And how they did it. It wasn't about going to New Orleans, it was just about how they did it. I felt a little disrespected after being (in LA) for so long and going through so many things I felt like they could have just told me and I probably would have accepted it. If someone is telling you that you can't be here or there's no more room for you, you got to understand that. I think because it's just how they did it is the reason why I took it so personal.''

So yeah, pretty sure Jim Buss won't be getting a Christmas card from the Kardashians this year. Odom is not, did not, will not take this well. He was comfortable in L.A., it fit with his lifestyle, with his wife's lifestyle, with his general celebrity pursuits. He's in Dallas, playing for a contender, but beating L.A. may be just as high on his list of priorities.

Kobe Bryant and other Lakers responded to the trade and Odom's feelings on it later Tuesday:

“Yeah. I know about that whole process. Not knowing about coach Brown and so forth and so on. But the Lakers do things a certain way. This is the way that they do it, and you can’t take it personally. This is how they do business."

On whether he gets Odom feeling “disrespected"

“Yeah. You want to be told things before they obviously come out in public. Somebody that wins a couple championships with you, you’d think that’s what would happen. But it’s nothing personal. This is the way they go about doing it.”

"Lamar is a sensitive guy, though. Takes a lot of things personally. He won’t see it that way... You take it how you take it. But they’ve done it to him, they’ve done it to me, they’ve done it to Brian Shaw. It’s nothing personal, it’s just how they handle it… You can’t take it personally.”

A nice parting gift from Kobe, a crack about Odom's sensitivity. It remains to be seen whether Odom can fit into the Mavericks' locker room, a tight knit group that had beef with Odom and the Lakers last year during and after its sweep of the L.A. in the second round.

But one thing is for certain. Lamar Odom knows just how much of a business it is, and got a taste of why so many former players aren't close with the Lakers' organization. No one is bigger than the logo in L.A.. You can count your rings, but when the time comes, you'll have to count them somewhere else.

Guard Rudy Fernandez's career with the Dallas Mavericks may be over before it even started. TuBasket.com and ESPN.com both reported on Tuesday that the Mavericks will move the moody shooting guard to the Denver Nuggets. ESPN.com reported that the Mavericks would receive a future second round pick and included reserve guard Corey Brewer in the deal as well. NBA.com quickly confirmed those details.

Brewer, a lithe wing, signed with the Mavericks in March after getting bought out by the New York Knicks after they acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves that helped facilitate the acquisition of All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.

Recent reports indicated that Fernandez, who regularly complained at his role in Portland, would not be happy in Dallas if he did not receive ample playing time and was considering requesting a buyout. Following the 2011-2012 season, Fernandez is free to return to play for Real Madrid. He reportedly had issues with his travel visa that delayed his arrival to Dallas' training camp.

On Monday, Dallas announced the signing of free agent wing Vince Carter and reports surfaced that the Mavericks had signed free agent guard Delonte West as well. Over the weekend, Dallas swung a trade for Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, too, giving Dallas 11 players competing for playing time at the one, two and three positions.

Fernandez, 26, has not yet delivered on the considerable hype he brought with him to the NBA following the 2008 Olympics, where Spain won the Silver Medal. Last season, Fernandez averaged 8.6 points and 2.5 assists in 78 games for the Blazers.

Brewer, 25, played just 13 games for Dallas last season, posting season averages of 8.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 69 combined appearances for the Mavericks and the Timberwolves.

The NBA's game of "power forward musical chairs" continued on Tuesday.

Yahoo Sports reports that Indiana Pacers power forward Josh McRoberts has signed a 2-year deal for $3 million per year with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers, who are in the luxury tax, used their mini-Mid-Level Exception to complete the signing.

Over the past few days, rumors circulated that Indiana would trade McRoberts to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard O.J. Mayo, but clearly the Duke University product found a better option.

Given Odom's departure, much will be asked of McRoberts, who brings with him a good motor and fairly solid skills. Aside from top-flight starters Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' frontcourt is pretty barren, and McRoberts should serve as a cost-effective, reliable hole-plugger in that regard. Still, he's a massive downgrade from Odom, one of the league's most versatile and talented stretch fours.

McRoberts, 24, was a second round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA Draft but was traded to the Pacers on the night of the 2008 NBA Draft along with forward Brandon Rush in a deal that sent guard Jerryd Bayless to Portland. McRoberts averaged 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Pacers in 2010-2011, both career-highs. He started 51 games for Indiana last season.

Back on Dec. 10th, the Chicago Tribune reported that Dwight Howardwas not considering the Bulls. Chicago has not been on the list of teams Ken Berger has reported since February under consideration by Howard and his management. And Tuesday, ESPN reported that Howard's list has been narrowed to four teams, the New Jersey Nets, the Dallas Mavericks, the L.A. Lakers, and the Orlando Magic.

So the question now is "Why won't Howard consider the Bulls?"

For starters, it would make a huge amount of sense for both parties in terms of basketball. For the Magic, they'd be able to get back a decent return on Howard, something that not many other teams will offer. Joakim Noah as a centerpiece, with Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, potentially Luol Deng, and a salary dump of Hedo Turkoglu along with picks could probably be had. That's a fine haul for the Magic. But maybe Howard simply doesn't care about what his team gets back and in fact wants to make sure they don't give up too much so that he can have a good group behind him wherever he lands.

The bigger upside is for Howard. He would no longer have to be the sole source of offense and would have the pressure to be "the man" split between he and Rose. Howard wants help? How about the MVP point guard who can create offense for himself as well as anyone in the league? He'd be set with a young player just starting his rise to greatness and already established. Rose isn't an alpha dog and wouldn't have problems with Howard, Rose has good enough vision even as a score-first guard to create oop after oop for Howard on the pick and roll. Throw in Carlos Boozer as now a much-better-fitting third option (unless they unloaded Boozer which they may have to for salary purposes), and some combination of the Chicago shooters and you have all the help Howard's been asking for.

Furthermore, how about the best defensive player in the league playing under the best defensive coach in the league? Tom Thibodeau could get the absolute most out of Howard's considerable abilities (not that Stan Van Gundy hasn't already done a stellar job and in fact in large part helped make Howard into the defensive presence he is), and would let him dictate what he wants on offense instead of forcing perimeter shots like SVG.

The only conclusion is that it's some combination of weather and style that Howard balks at in regards to Chicago. Howard is rumored to prefer warm-weather destinations, coming from the south and having played there for his career. Chicago isn't exactly balmy. Then again, not like Brooklyn is all palm trees and sun tan lotion. The bigger question may be from a marketing perspective. New York or L.A. provide him with media opportunities galore, and for a guy who loves the camera as much as Howard does, that might be the kicker.

One entity sad about this development? Adidas, who have both Howard and Rose under their label. The two teaming up under the colors of Nike's icon Michael Jordan's former team? Priceless. The money would be there for Howard in Chicago, but maybe not the level of fame he wants.

We're less than two weeks away from the start of the 2011-2012 NBA season. After an interminable lockout and a rushed free agency period, here's a first look division-by-division preview at how the league is shaping up. We begin with the Southeast Division.

2011 Standings:San Antonio Spurs, 61-21, lost in first round of Western Conference playoffs to Memphis GrizzliesDallas Mavericks, 57-25, won the NBA titleNew Orleans Hornets, 46-36, lost in first round of Western Conference playoffs to Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies, 46-36, lost in second round of Western Conference playoffs to Oklahoma City ThunderHouston Rockets, 43-39, NBA Draft lottery

Question is, are they better than last season? My answer: No idea. Nobody really knew how good the Mavs were until the postseason last year and that might be the case again. But with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, this group will win its share of games, get a nice seed and set itself up for another run at a title. Worst team: New Orleans Hornets

And that's maybe even before they get Chris Paul traded. Forget the fact that the Hornets only have six NBA players on their roster right now. Losing David West really hurts. Losing Carl Landry really hurts. Heck, losing Aaron Gray really hurts. And you know you're not in good shape when losing Aaron Gray really hurts.

Even if CP3 is handcuffed to The Big Easy for this season, the Hornets are headed for the bottom of the Southwest and most definitely the lottery. That's what's so frustrating about the original trade that fell apart. With Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Lamar Odom, this team was a playoff contender. Now, it'll be a battle to win 30.

Biggest surprise: Houston Rockets

Did you know: Last season the Rockets finished with 43 wins in maybe the toughest division in basketball? Did you know that would've put them as the sixth seed in the East? And yet they missed the postseason in the West. Such is life. General manager Daryl Morey is trying to do everything to ramp up the roster a bit and while it looks like he'll be hanging on to Scola and Martin for a while, he's got a group that can win. Kyle Lowry really came into his own last season and if the Rockets can somehow figure out how to get into the Nene sweepstakes, this team is a playoff contender. Heck, it already is.

Chris Paul is included because as of right now, he's still in the Southwest Division. Dirk was a no-brainer, but Zach Randolph was a tough choice. Because you'll notice a key name omitted. Starts with "Tim" and ends with "Multiple Championships." Reason for Duncan being left off is that with the crammed 66-game schedule, this season could really wear on him. He was already sitting out the second game of back-to-backs in the normal 82-game set. But this could really affect his game. Randolph blossomed into one of the league's premier power forwards in the postseason, working over Duncan's Spurs.

Biggest Question: Does New Orleans start the season with Chris Paul?

A week ago, the answer to that was "Duh, no." Now, it's looking like there could actually be that awkward moment where Chris Paul has to take the floor in New Orleans in front of a home crowd. Nothing is hanging over the NBA quite like this trade saga and it will greatly impact the balance of power in this division. Chris Paul is good enough to win the Hornets games on his own. Take him away and replace him with a rebuilding group of youngsters and you just added four more wins to each team in this division. Everyone wants to know where CP3 is going. We know it's not going to be New Orleans, but right now he's chained to the water heater in the basement of New Orleans Arena. It's just a matter of when he'll be set free.

Vince Carter has found another new NBA home. Delonte West is once again an NBA employee! And both have arrived in the same destination: the Dallas Mavericks.

The defending champs announced the signing of Carter, a 34-year-old 8-time NBA All-Star, on Monday. Terms of the details were not disclosed by the team but ESPNDallas.com reports that Carter signed a mini Mid-Level Exception deal worth $9 million over three years. Carter was bought out by the Phoenix Sunslast week. Carter averaged 13.5 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Suns last season.

SlamOnline.com and Yahoo Sports report that West, 28, will join the defending champs. A 7-year NBA vet, West spent last season playing for the Boston Celtics, where he averaged 5.6 points and 2.7 assists per game.

Together, West and Cater make the tenth and eleventh player who will fight for minutes at the one, two or three position for Dallas. Surely some additional roster balancing or trimming moves are coming.

The Dallas Mavericks will look nothing this season like the team that took the floor at the beginning of last season, nor the one that took the floor for Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Tyson Chandler has signed with the Knicks. Caron Butler has signed with the Clippers. And now it appears J.J. Barea will be gone as well.

This deal is right on the cusp between being great value and slightly overpaid. Barea lacks size (obviously) and athleticism. But he's 27, still in his prime, and has an incredible ability to not only manage the offense effectively, but score in bursts using savvy and quickness.

It's easy to pull out the old Timberwolves point guard jokes, but considering their actual situation, with Luke Ridnour being their only other primary viable point. Barea can work in small lineups at the two-guard spot (or extremely big ones if the frontcourt is loaded). He's versatile and plays within the system. He should work extremely well under Rick Adelman.

For the Mavericks, the fans don't even get to enjoy one night of seeing the team that knocked off the Heat to bring the Mavericks their first ring. And the team will be very different when it takes the floor on Christmas against the Heat. The Mavericks won the title and decided to go in a different direction. Immediately.

It should be noted that the deal for Barea is actually less than the Timberwolves paid for Darko Milicic. So they're learning.

More people might be wondering how Khloe Kardashian feels about Dallas than what Lamar Odom means for the defending champs. But that's just the way it is when it comes to Odom.

So let's ask the question: How does Khloe feel about this?

Just kidding. I meant the other question.

The Mavericks needed to replace the size they lost with Tyson Chandler signing with the Knicks and while Brendan Haywood is a serviceable replacement -- especially in terms of what he's already being paid -- Odom gives the Mavs a jolt of size, which is something they definitely needed.

I mean, just imagine the options Rick Carlisle has now. Odom and Dirk together in the frontcourt, Odom at small forward, Odom running point forward with Jason Kidd off the ball and two other guards or just Odom at the 5 and Dirk at the 4.

It was a bit curious to me that the Lakers would be so willing to unload Odom to the team that swept them out of the playoffs last season, especially when the deal helps their foe in a lot of ways. Because look at what Odom gives Dallas: A big body to rebound and defend the size in the West -- i.e., the Lakers with Gasol and Bynum (or Dwight Howard) -- but also another offensive weapon that can play inside and out.

How do you defend the Mavs with both Odom and Dirk together? That's got to be one of the more unique pairings that anyone in the league could deploy. Dirk's off-balance jumpers, Odom's passing and ball-handling -- two unconventional players playing in a very dynamic offensive system with a point guard like Jason Kidd passing them the ball. That could be some poetic offense.

A big question is, is this enough to make the Mavs contenders to repeat? Chandler meant so very much to them in terms of protecting the paint and Odom isn't replacing that. He's more giving them a little more offensive versatility while also a little bump in size. If we were just comparing Odom to losing Chandler, there's no comparison. The Mavs lost more than they gained.

But Odom isn't there to replace Chandler. He's there to give the Mavs a new look. It's more about Haywood and what he brings. Because if he's capable of turning in a season like he had in Washginton before signing a big deal with Dallas, you're looking at a Mavs team that's similar to last season except they've just added Lamar Odom. Sounds like an upgrade to me.

And what did they have to give up? Just a trade exception that they got a few hours earlier from the Chandler deal. Dan Gilbert has had the trade exception the Cavs got in their sign-and-trade with Miami for LeBron. Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson turned theirs into Lamar Odom and it only took about 12 hours.

Maybe it was part of a master plan, or maybe it's just coincidence, but partly because of Mark Cuban's noise-making, the Mavericks just landed themselves a pretty nice piece for very little. Are they still championship material? It's a different look now because Odom is going to change them a lot. Without him, they'd be more of the same with Haywood trying to do his best Tyson Chandler impersonation. Now, they've got a fresh, versatile face that might make them as dangerous as they've ever been offensively.